They sat there for a good two minutes before she remembered that he was bleeding all over the deck. " Shit, I completely forgot you were injured. " She scrambled to her feet, trying to keep her balance on the slick deck but ended up falling over again. Edward gave a snort. " Nice job, lass. At this rate, you'll be more injured than me by the time your finished trying to stand." Mary shot him a glare. " Well, whats your plan then? I got you on here, now what do you plan to do?" He glared back, face reddening slightly and he turned away as if in thought. But she saw through his act. " You don't have one, do you? Mr 'get me up on deck and I'll do everything'" Edward opened his mouth to protest, thought better, and closed it again with a frown. " Your lucky that I'm smart." Mary grinned, winking as his scowl deepened. " Alright. Now, first order of business is to assess your wound, to get you to stop ruining my precious boat. " Kneeling down-enjoying kenways slight flinch- she finally turned her attention to his tail.
Now that was a weird sentence.
It took a while to actually locate the wounded site, and soon her hands were slick with blood. Shuddering, she realised there was no way to see anything through this muck. She would have to wash the blood off. But the only bucket available was her fish bucket. With her live catch in it.
With a sigh, she heaved it up and over the side. The fish slid into freedom, splashing into the cold ocean and gone within the second. Now that the bucket was empty, she could fill it with water. Which she did. And then proceeded to dump it over Edward.
He let out a strangled cry, gritting his teeth and that was when she noticed he was trembling slightly. Jeez. She must have hurt him pretty bad if he was shaking. Now that the blood was cleared, she could finally begin patching him up. It took less than two seconds to find the wound.
Wincing slightly, she groped around until her hand landed on the small emergency first aid pack. Ripping it open, she breathed a small sigh of relief. Bandages, tape, gauze, everything she needed. Well, hoped. How was she supposed to know how mermaid anatomy worked? Humans, people, sure. She had been taught in first aid by her father when he took her out fishing when she was young, so she knew how to handle the basics. Hypothermia, broken bones, shock, cuts, the usual. But this? This was a completely different story.
His tail, as you would call it, was covered in hundreds of tiny fish-like scales. If she had the time, Mary could probably spend hours just staring at them, the way they caught the late afternoon light and threw off tiny bits of blue and pale yellow onto the wooden deck. The scales themselves were a a beautiful green, slightly larger than the nail on her pinkie finger. Her hook must have gotten underneath one of the scales and stuck. If one or two had come off it would have been fine, but they were so tightly interlaced that when her hook tore of the scale it was stuck on it tore nearly a meter long strip right down his side. Thats why there was so much blood.
The flesh underneath the scales was like something out of a cat food tin. Soft, pink, and oozing blood, Mary felt her stomach contract at the sight. Steadying herself, she glanced back over to her first aid pack. "Hey, uh, Kenway, awkward question?" She gave a small breathy laugh. " Do you know if these like…grow back or whatever?"
Edward shrugged. " I guess so, mate. I've never been badly injured before. Just…wrap it up or something." Mary rolled her eyes in frustration. Of course he wouldn't know.
Her fingers hovered for a moment above the supplies before snagging the bandages. A small 'humph' escaped before she unravelled them, shoving Edwards tail upwards before beginning to wrap the bandages around the scar.
It was long, tedious work. She had to concentrate to make sure that she didn't miss a spot or make it to tight. The entire time Kenway watched her, sometimes watching her fingers at work-rather tensely might she add, and sometimes focusing on her face. His face had softened from the scowl he normally wore, to something almost like was a nice change from the scowling and beaten up old man to, if she didn't know better, a teenage boy who had just discovered the love of his life and was thinking about how nice their voice was. They remained like this in silence for a while. His voice, which had been just moments before harsh and intimidating, surprised her when he spoke up quietly. " Your taking this very well for somebody who just pulled a guy who's half fish out of the sea, lass." Mary snorted, but remained silent. " Normally I would expect one to run screaming, but you just haul me over and bandage me up. Now isn't that a surprise?" There, that cocky smile was back. But slightly less cutting than before. " Well, if you stabbed me by accident, would you run away screaming or try to help me?" He nodded. " You have a point there. But still. You just pulled, from you point of view, a monster out of the sea. "
Mary couldn't help it, she burst out laughing. Edward recoiled slightly, a quizzical look on his face. " A monster? Is that what you think I imagine you as?" She shook her head, still grinning like a well fed cat. " Whatever the fuck you are Kenway, your not a monster. I know people of my own species that are monsters. We don't imagine cats as monsters, do we?" She cut him off from the 'whats a cat' question. " No. Because they're just a different species. You? Your just a different species as well, mate. " She shrugged. " Besides, when your out on a boat for most of your life anyway, your bound to see strange things eventually. " Winking, she finished the bandages and grabbed tape, ripping off a long piece. " Im just glad this strange thing's hot." Securing the the bandage with the tape, she gave a huff. " Alright then. Done. " She plonked herself down onto the deck, wincing as her back started to complain again. " Ugh, that took forever. Try not to maul yourself, mate. " This earned a snort from Edward. " Well its your fault that I'm here, so don't come complaining to me. " He replied with a smirk. Somehow this ticked her off. " Alright, whatever, I'm sick of you now. " She hauled herself up, much to her body's protests. " Shoo. Whatever. Come on, I'll give you a lift. " She offered him her hand, but he just raised and eyebrow as the grin slid off his face. " What? Ive just been injured-by you, maybe I point this out, and you just want to dump me back to were I came from?" Mary bit her lip, struggling to contain her whine of protest. He had a point, she could already see blood seeping through the bandages. They would need changing, and they could come off in the water, and how would he replace them? Plus, the blood could attract sharks, right? " Well, what do you expect me to do? Keep you in my bathtub?" She shot back, pressing her hands against her forehead in frustration. " Well, these type of boats usually have some sort of 'holding' container, right?" Mary looked at him in disbelief. " You want me to keep you, a merdude, in my boat, in a meter deep pit with water in it for God knows how long? " She barked a sour laugh. " You know what? Fine! Thats just fine! Let me just drag you down the ladder and stick you in there. You could live there for the rest of your life for all I care." Her hands flew into the air as she fumed. Edward gaped at her, shuffling himself backwards slightly. She could tell she had flown off the hook, but for Gods sake! It probably was about time she had a bit of a breakdown anyway. There was a man with a tail sitting on her deck. That she had pulled out from the ocean.
Her shoulders slumped and she sighed. But that was still not an excuse for yelling at him. It was her fault he was there, anyway, she should have the decency to at least take care of him. She could see him now, watching her warily like a cat circling a sleeping dog. " Look, I'm sorry, ok? Its just… your expecting me to keep you in my boat, and I've just met you. Its like a stranger asking if he can sleep in my bathroom. "
A frown creased his face, but he nodded in understanding. " I know, lass. I just… I can't leave. I can't. " He gestured to his injury. " Just… please."
Please?
Edward said please?
Letting out a growl of frustration, she dropped her hands and ran them through her hair. They got stuck on a knot and she yanked them out, wincing. Thick hair was hard to take care of. Maybe she should cut it. Or dye it, she hated the colour black. Blonde was definitely her thing. And Kenway was blonde. Shit.
" Ok. Ok, fine. You can stay. " Before he could say anything, she yanked open the trapdoor to cut him off. " But only until you get better. You got that?" He gave a silent nod, slightly alarmed at her ferocity. " Alright then, your gonna have to help me here. " Climbing down the first few rungs until only her top half was visible, she grabbed onto his arms. " Alright, ready? Three, two, one-" She gave a pull just as her foot slipped off the rung. She-dragging Kenway down with her- Fell back into the hold, landing with a heavy thud onto her back. She barley had a moment to get her breath before Edward landed on top of her, knocking the breath right back out of her. It was a full 10 seconds before she had the energy to shove him off her. " Ugh, why are you so heavy?" She moaned, rubbing her back. She needed a spa when she got back. He replied with a groan, not bothering to move from were she dumped him. Rolling over, she dragged herself to her feet. " Alright, lets get this over with. " She grabbed back at his arms again-Those tanned, muscled arms Goddamnit Mary- and dragged him over to the lip of the pool. She gave him a prod with her boot before dropping his arms into the water with a splash. " Now, get in you lazy arse. "
Kenway finally looked up, eyes narrowed and mouth pressed into a tight line. Giving a small 'humph' of annoyance, he dragged himself into the tub face first. Mary stepped back to avoid getting splashed. Finally Edward finished turning himself and getting comfortable. " Alright. Are we done?" He nodded, a slightly pleased look on his face as he leant back and stretched luxuriously. " Alright then. Im going home, so things might get a bit bumpy. " He gave a little wave as she exited.
Dick.
She had just opened the door when she realised that she had to tell Annie.
Well, what was she supposed to do? Next wednesday was she just supposed to leave him there while they went out? And when Annie went into the hold just go 'Oh, by the way, there's a mermaid in a fish trough. Just letting you know.' No way. She would have to tell her.
The door clicked shut behind her and she dumped her stuff on the floor. " Annie, I'm back. I have some…news to tell you. " It was only then that she noticed how quiet it was.
" Annie?" She couldn't have left her room. Or the flat, either. She was way to sick. Her feet carried her down the hall to outside of Annies room. She gave a gentle knock, knowing that if it was to loud she might wake her up if she was sleeping. No response. Trying the door handle, she was surprised that it was locked. It was never locked. Not in the four years that they had flatted together had that door been locked.
Okay, Mary was worried.
" Annie? Annie, open up." The small rustling of blankets confirmed that there was somebody inside. " Annie, I know your in there. I can hear you. Open up, I need to talk. "
Annie's voice finally sounded through the door. " Uh, not right now Mary. Im…not decent. "
Mary rolled her eyes, giving a snort. " Annie, I don't care if your naked. We dated for two months, remember? Just open the bloody door."
Dead silence. Frowning, she pressed her ear against the door. This was better. She could hear hushed whispers. Wait, there were two people in there? What the fuck-
" You used to date a girl? Thats so hot."
Mary almost fell backwards. Holy shit. " Oh my God, have I just?" She burst into laughter, pressing herself against the wall in a attempt not to double over. " Did I just walk into you screwing your boyfriend? " Suddenly the door was yanked open and there stood Annie, wrapped in a towel with her face flushed and dark red hair in a wild tangle. This sight only made Mary laugh harder. " Oh my God, I did! I just walked into your guys hanky pankey session!" Annie pulled herself out of the doorway and into the hall, shutting the door behind her. There, she leant against the frame and glared at Mary, who was still cackling. " Shut up!" She hissed, keeping a tight grip on her towel that was wrapped around her body. Annie had a nice figure for somebody who didn't work out much, so Mary couldn't blame Jack, her boyfriend. But still, wednesdays were her and Annie's time. Suddenly the laughter died from her lips and the smile fell from her face. Annie knew her well enough to guess what she was thinking.
" Look, I am sick, ok? But when Jack came over, I just wanted to stay in bed, so he climbed in with me, and…" She trailed off, biting her lip and looking away from Mary's angry eyes. " Im sorry, okay? I'll kick him out now, alright? And then how about we order pizza and watch a movie?"
Annie had her at pizza. That girl knew her bribes. She allowed herself a grin. " Yeah, okay. And even then I might still not forgive you. " Annie grinned back, she knew that she had forgiven her anyway. " I can handle that." She turned back to the door, but stopped just before she opened it. " Oh, uh, what were you going to tell me again?"
Mary shook her head. " Oh, nothing. It can wait."